Planning Board seeks ban on new off-premise billboards; recommends sign-ordinance updates

The Yanceyville Planning Board has recommended that Town Council adopt amendments to Chapter 6 (Signs) of the Zoning Ordinance that would tighten controls on off-premise advertising and update sign definitions and standards.

In a consistency statement submitted to the Town Council, the Planning Board said demand for off-premise advertising is expected in the town's zoning jurisdiction—particularly along the Highway 86 corridor—if a casino is developed in nearby Danville, Virginia. The board recommended allowing existing off-premise advertising signs to remain as nonconforming uses under conditions (annual inspection, limits on enlargement or added electronic features) but prohibiting new off-premise advertising signs going forward. The recommendation cites Yanceyville's 2022–2036 Comprehensive Land Use Development Plan and the town's stated goal of preserving a "small town atmosphere."

The draft Chapter 6 text included in the meeting materials defines sign types (A-frame, electronic sign, freestanding/pole sign, ground/monument sign, projecting and suspended signs), sets area, height and setback standards for permitted signs, describes temporary-sign allowances and political-sign provisions, and lays out maintenance and nonconforming-sign rules consistent with state law citations in the text (e.g., NCGS 160D-601(d), provisions relating to outdoor advertising in Chapter 136). The draft explicitly deletes a prior section on outdoor advertising and establishes the 2023 date for transitioning existing off-premise advertising to nonconforming status.

What happens next: Planning Board forwarded the consistency statement and draft ordinance language for Council consideration. The Council materials show the full amended text (Sections 6-1 through 6-24). If Council places the item on a future agenda, the ordinance amendment process will follow required notice and hearing steps under state law.